Testimonial – Rhonda Cavner

Dear Olga,

Just a quick note to say thank you all for a great time in Russia and the Baltic Highlights Tour. You guys are terrific. We could not be happier with the tours. Hats off to our tour guide, Alex in St. Petersburg. She and the driver were truly wonderful. She showed us and taught us so many things in a short period of time. There’s no way we could have ever done this on our own. The guides in Germany, Tallinn, and Helsinki were also very good. Again, a great tour package. We really enjoyed the folk show at night in St. Peterburg. A really nice surprise of great talent. As you can tell, we were very happy we chose T.J.Travel for our tours. You guys made our shore excursions a time to remember. Again, thank you so very much! Linda Noack and John Mckay NCL 11-12 sept

Just do it! Set up the private tour, and you won’t be sorry! We are a family of four, with kids 17 & 22. I searched and contacted quite a few tours before I chose TJ Travel. I had heard horror stories of group tours, and for just a bit more than some, and less even than some other tours, we had a private driver and guide in the comfort of a Mercedes van for 2 days in st. Petersburg. In fact, it was far less expensive than the ship-sponsored tour.

Once we got through customs (allow 30 min. minimum), our guide, Nina, was waiting with a sign with our name on it. The van was right out front, and off we went. We visited all the sights the big tours did, but at our own pace and with ease. We had extra time for shopping, coffee, and a metro tour that we didn’t even plan for because it was just the four of us.

Nina was a magnificent guide, and the driver always managed to work his way to the front! Nina knew exactly how to beat all the lines at all the sites, including the horrific lines at Katherine’s Palace and the Hermitage. She was a wealth of knowledge on art, architecture, history, and more, and didn’t hesitate to answer all our questions (my husband was a political science major and did quite a lot of studying on Russian history). Her English is impeccable, and she understood our sense of humor, too. She also took a few photos of the four of us, which is a rarity for me to be in our family vacation photos!

I could go on and on about every place we visited, but it is in all the other tour descriptions. I simply want to emphasize that, while out and about on our tour, we saw the other tours I had considered and were so thankful that we did not choose them!! Yes, they had good reviews, but the other guides we saw looked bothered and uninterested, and the groups looked like they were all bored and/or lost. Nina was a little firecracker and kept us engaged and enlightened. She chose a great lunch spot and even added on interesting things to do and see, since we had the extra time. It was also nice to be able to safely leave things in the van with the driver when we didn’t want to have to carry jackets, umbrellas, and even my purse a couple of times! He was completely trustworthy. He even surprised us with a bunch of delicious candies at one of the stops.(Though my 22 year old daughter may have influenced that a bit – wink*.)

All I can say is that Nina and TJ Travel absolutely MADE our trip to St. Petersburg, and I know we would not have enjoyed it nearly as much with any other group. My tip: spend the extra and make it PRIVATE, with just your own travel group or family. You will be glad you did! If we ever get to go back to Russia, we will request Nina most definitely!